Text: John 1:43-51
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Here is where most people get the disciples wrong in art or in their portrayal in movies, they make them middle-aged or older men. The fact was they were all young men. Probably the oldest of them was Peter who was probably the same age as Jesus (30). The rest of them were younger than Peter. John and James were probably the youngest; John may have been as young as sixteen. Philip and Nathanael were probably in their early to mid-twenties. These were young men who had enough means to travel and even follow a Rabbi around.
The other myth about the disciples is they were poor men. None of these men are in poverty and are not exactly poor. The four fishermen have two boats designed to fish on the Sea of Galilee that can each hold at least twelve to twenty men with a one of those boats having a cabin of sorts in the stern and they have hired men. This more akin to the Maine lobster fisherman or Alaskan king crab fisherman (small business owners) than people in poverty. Matthew was a tax collector, a profession despised because they had a tendency to get rich by overcharging. My point is that each of these men do not seem to be worried about where their next meal is coming from but rather seem to have the means to leave their work for a time and follow an itinerant teacher. Philip and Nathanael are either the sons of rich or middle class fathers or apprentices in a good profession because they have time on their hands.
This story shows Philip being called but he want to bring along his friend Nathanael. When Nathanael hears about Jesus his reaction indicates either that he did not think of Nazareth as a place where the Messiah would come from because it was either too small or too corrupt. When he finally meets Jesus, Jesus’ statement indicates he knows Nathanael’s nature although Nathanael’s response indicates that he did not believe that He and Jesus had ever met before. One thing is clear, that Jesus felt very highly about Nathanael’s integrity, in particular his ability to speak his mind in fulness of truth.
Jesus response and Nathanael’s subsequent exclamation leave us baffled as to why Nathanael thought it was significant that Jesus saw him under the fig tree before Philip called him. The text does not really give us any clues as to what was so significant. In any case, it was proof enough to Nathanael that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus is amazed at how quickly Nathanael has given his faith and states that he would see even greater things – angels ascending and decending on the Son of Man to be exact.
The little group is growing – Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip and Nathanael. In essence, Jesus is forming his core leaders into a small discipleship group. What comes next will be Jesus’ first display of supernatural power.
Next: Jesus’ First Miracle